Creating Worlds: Cinematic Art of Dylan Cole (Presentation and Book Release Party)
Time
Sat, Nov 15, 2025
6:00 PM – 10:00 PM PT
Location/Platform
Dell Stage + Gnomon Twitch and YouTube

Join us at Gnomon on Saturday, November 15th for a special evening with acclaimed Production Designer Dylan Cole, whose visionary work has helped define the look of some of cinema’s most iconic worlds.
Over the past two decades, Dylan has contributed to more than 60 major films, from his work as a matte painter on The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King to production designer for the Avatar franchise. His new book, Creating Worlds: The Disney and Fox Studios Cinematic Art of Dylan Cole, offers an in-depth look at the paintings, concepts, and creative processes that have shaped his celebrated career.
This unique event will include an artist presentation, book release celebration, and gallery opening featuring work from Dylan’s expansive portfolio, including new work from Avatar: Fire and Ash.
Schedule
6:00–7:00 PM | Presentation at the Dell Stage
Dylan will share stories from his 20+ year career in film, exploring how he found his place in the film industry, the challenges he's faced, and how his artistic techniques have evolved with technology and time. He’ll also be sharing a wide range of his work, including matte paintings, concept designs, poster art, and rarely seen pieces from some of cinema’s most iconic worlds.
7:00–10:00 PM | Book Release Party & Gallery Opening
Following the presentation, celebrate the release of Dylan’s book Creating Worlds: The Disney and Fox Studios Cinematic Art of Dylan Cole in the Gnomon Gallery. Guests are invited to explore a new exhibition highlighting work from the book and beyond, enjoy small bites and drinks on the patio, and meet Dylan during an exclusive signing session.
This will be your first opportunity to buy the book before it is available anywhere! Books will be available for purchase in the Gnomon Student Store prior to the event.
Whether you're an aspiring artist, a film enthusiast, or simply fascinated by the power of visual storytelling, this is an evening you won’t want to miss. As always, campus tours with a Gnomon representative will be available starting at 5pm. Dylan’s stage presentation will also be streamed on Gnomon’s YouTube and Twitch accounts. In-person guests will then be able to explore Dylan’s work in the gallery and meet him for a book signing.
Speaker

Dylan Cole
Production Designer
Dylan Cole is the Academy Award nominated co-production designer of Avatar: The Way of Water. He oversees design for the entire Avatar franchise, specifically for the moon of Pandora, including all its environments, creatures, characters and cultures.
A veteran of the industry for over 20 years, he has contributed art to over 60 films. Notable credits include Senior Matte Painter on Return of the King, Concept Art Director on Avatar, and Production Designer for Maleficent.
The Southern California native grew up drawing spaceships and alien worlds and this passion led to the creation of his first children’s book, The Otherworldly Adventures of Tyler Washburn. Cole has also just published a comprehensive book of his film design work, Creating Worlds: The Disney and 20th Century Studios Cinematic Art of Dylan Cole. Dylan enjoys traveling and teaching workshops at various events and schools around the world, as well as oil painting in the studio and plein air.
Sponsored by

Gnomon events are sponsored by Dell.
Dell Precision has over 25 years of innovations, driving the work of power users, designers, and creators. The Precision product team works directly with customers and strategic partners to deliver the most reliable and powerful PCs from Dell. The intelligent performance is driven by AI-based software, Dell Optimizer for Precision, and the professional-level components, such as Intel® Core™ and Xeon® processors, fast memory (including ECC memory options), scalable storage, and professional graphics from NVIDIA that drive many of the creative applications and workflows, as well as exclusive technologies such as Reliable Memory Technology Pro and, patented thermals and the Dell Optimizer.
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